If you will, take your Scriptures as we turn one last time to consider today what is the fruit of the Spirit here in this list that the Apostle Paul gives in Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23. That will be our reading portion, and we'll be considering the last three parts of that fruit of the Spirit, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control this morning. Let us go to the Lord in prayer, seeking his help to open up these realities to our eyes and to convict our hearts that these are the things that we ought to be bearing in our life and living in. Let us pray. Our gracious and evident Father, we do thank you for the power of your word. It is a firm foundation for our feet. And what have you said that you could, you have not already said in your word for your people, it is fully sufficient. And it is the primary means of grace the spirit uses in order to produce and grow fruit in us. And so we do thank you, Lord, that we would be attentive in hearing your word as it is preached. And we know it comes from your very lips, our great teacher and prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of your spirit, the vessel you have chosen. Lord, would we listen to you and hear you that we might grow in our faith, our faithfulness, our gentleness, and our self-control, that we might be disciplined in these things, that we might bear forth this fruit to the glory of our great God and Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen. Brothers and sisters, I'd ask, please, for the standing as we, again, read the Word of God that comes to us from Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23. I do remind you, Knox Orthodox Presbyterian Church, these are the words of your God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God, it stands forever. Please be seated. Children, I have some pretty heavy questions for you this morning. What are you aiming for in life? What are you living for? Let me ask you another question. How long is forever? How long do you think eternity is? We sing of when the endless ages come. How long are endless ages? How often do you think about the afterlife? That is life after this present reality that you now live in, the heaven beyond. You will not run the race steady or well if you are not thinking of the end and the goal. The end and the goal is life in the presence of God forever, for all eternity. How long have you lived? We are speaking of life without end, of heavenly existence in the holy presence of God in all His glory. I would hope that you think upon these things constantly, Continually, in your mind and in your heart, every single day you live, everything that God has ever promised to you, His people, which is the fullness of Himself for all eternity. This is life everlasting, knowing your God and living with Him. Eternal life lived in and before the presence of our God forever. What are you aiming for? What are you living for? Now, between here, where you presently live, and there, the forever with God, I want you to ask yourself this simple question. What kind of life will I live that I might be fruitful unto my God? Fruit that will last forever for all eternity. Do you have your eyes and your minds and your hearts upon things that are fleeting that shall pass away? Or do you have your mind and your heart and your life on eternal things that will last for all eternity with God? The Word of God says that we eagerly await from Heaven our Savior. Are you eagerly awaiting for Jesus Christ to return? Are you crying out, Lord, come quickly? Are you living your life for Him and to Him, faithfully serving Him? This is how you eagerly await His appearing. This is how you anticipate His arrival, by living your life in the light of the forever that He is bringing with Him. That you may enter into the joy of your blessed Lord and Savior. And Jesus has not left you alone. He's not left you orphaned. But He has sent a helper, His Spirit. His everlasting Spirit. The Spirit of holiness. The fruit producing Holy Spirit. who has set eternity into your hearts, that you may long and desire after the presence of God, that you'd be ever growing in this desire and longing for you children of God and followers of Christ. Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? If you are then, it means that you are seeking to live a disciplined life. And children, that may sound like a negative thing. Discipline, it isn't. It's a positive thing because you're called to be disciples of Jesus. That's why you've been baptized. You've been baptized because you are disciples of Jesus and to be a disciple means to live a disciplined life. It is the root of that word. Following your Lord. It is not a bad thing. Now we've considered how the fruit produces in you the foundational graces of love, joy, and peace. Last time we considered the social graces, those interactive graces, the fruit of long-suffering patience with one another, kindness with one another, goodness toward one another. And so today we want to consider the graces of discipline. Of discipline. In other words, the Holy Spirit is producing in you the fruit of a disciplined life. And so today we are going to consider the fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. These three fly in the face of our contemporary culture. The practice of these are like someone dragging fingernails down a chalkboard. They don't have a problem with love and joy and peace. They don't really have that much problem with patience and with kindness and goodness. But faithfulness does not characterize our age. It doesn't. People are not faithful. Our age is marked by selfishness, by laziness, by treachery, by manipulation, by self-assertion, playing the constant victim, being easily offended by everything. Not gentleness or meekness or lowliness. Neither does self-control come to mind in our narcissistic and pleasure-driven society. The I-want-it-now society. Is that who you? Does that characterize you? I want it now, and if I don't want it, I'm going to cry and throw a hissy fit. So this final triad profoundly confronts and is contrary to our culture. The Holy Spirit, in contrast, is producing in you a disciplined life. So let us consider these three disciplined graces or virtues one by one. Verse 22, the fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness. Faithfulness. Have you thought much about this element of the fruit of the Spirit? We speak a lot about love and joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, but what about faithfulness? Faithfulness is the discipline of action. It is where the word and the deed become one. Faithfulness is coupled together with truthfulness. It describes one who is honest and dependable. The Lord our God is absolutely faithful. He's faithful. He is the spring, origin, and source of faithfulness. This divine attribute speaks of our God's integrity, His reliability, His credibility. His sincerity, his authenticity, his dependability, his incorruptibility, his honesty, his truthfulness. God's faithfulness is his truthfulness. He tells you who he is, what he has done and what he is doing. He doesn't leave you in the dark. He puts himself out there. He cannot and does not lie and thus, you can depend upon Him. Completely and utterly. And because He is truth, He is dependable and He keeps every single promise and fulfills every word. Even His warnings that He gives to you. If you fail to them, those threats will come to pass. The day that you shall surely die, this world will be cursed and it was. He keeps His Word to the uttermost. The Bible, God's Word, is an extension of God's faithfulness. Since it is His Word, it is true, and you can depend on His Word as well. Deuteronomy 7, therefore, know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant. He will not break. Deuteronomy 32, the Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are just as a God of faithfulness, and without iniquity, just and upright is He. Psalm 36, verse 5, Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Lamentations 3.23, Great is Your faithfulness. Oh Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5.24, he who calls you is faithful. And what is Christ called as the rider of the white horse who comes to, again, mete out justice and righteousness toward his enemies in Revelation 19? He who sat on this white horse is called faithful and true. So our God and Savior is faithful. He is the origin, source, and fount of all faithfulness. So what does it mean for you to be faithful? First, it refers to how you live before God. We say that coram Deo. You who are studying Latin, coram Deo, right? It means before the face, before God's face. You receive, you believe, and you love all that He has said in His Holy Word. You cherish it. You take it to be your faithful standard of doctrine and life, of practice, what you do. A faithful life lived in steadfast trust in God, faith in Jesus Christ is the beginning of your faithfulness. It is a faith that endures and perseveres to the very end. So that we might hear, well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. Is it your desire and longing, passion to hear those words from your Lord on the day that He comes to receive you to Himself? Like your Savior, who are united to Him and follow Him, again, Revelation records that you are called chosen and faithful. But second, faithfulness demonstrates itself most frequently in how we live among one another. This fruit of the Spirit takes a lot of time to discover of another, does it not? If someone is indeed faithful. Perhaps you can think of a faithful friend, and if you describe them as a faithful friend, you know one thing, you've known them for a long time. Because faithfulness takes a long time to again discover of someone. You've discovered something of their character from the long haul. And you've learned that you can depend upon them. That they are trustworthy. That they keep their word. There's a steadiness to their character. They are consistent. They are constant. Seemingly immovable. They are faithful. There is a faithfulness, a dependability, a steadiness. Now it's not just steadiness, it is steadiness in a certain way, because I can give you an example of a steadiness that's not good. Could you imagine a crime boss, perhaps a drug cartel boss that is known and has a reputation for being very severe for those who cross him? You could say he's steady in that. He's consistent in that. He's constant in that. Would you call him faithful? Virtuous? No. Although he is steady. No, this faithfulness is nestled between goodness and gentleness. The fruit of the Spirit balances itself out, you see. It is a beautiful faithfulness, a beautiful, lovely steadiness. So what does it mean to be faithful? Being an honest person, committed to honesty. Your yes is yes and your no is no. You keep your word. The psalmist says the righteous man who enters into the heavenly mount and habitation of the Lord is the one who swears to his own hurt and does not change. That is that you keep your oaths, your vows, your word, even if it costs you your own life. You are faithful. Your yes is yes and your no is no. Jesus promises, be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life. Revelation 2 verse 10. Again, the Christian is one who keeps their word. There used to be a time, brothers and sisters, where you could just give your word to one another, and you could stake everything on that. Deals were made by that. That is not the case anymore, even among Christians. Avoid self-exalting exaggeration. Beware telling the tall tales, the fish stories. You can tell a fish story when you hear it right. It's very fishy, right? Fish stories are fishy. They don't sound true. They're usually not. Avoid them. Faithfulness means fulfilling your obligations, your responsibilities. You are to honor your obligations. Pay your bills on time. Do not take advantage of others. Although they take advantage of you. You don't do the same. Faithfulness is dependability. If you give your word to do something, do it. Be careful not to overcommit yourself. Learn to say no if something that is asked of you will overextend you too far and you know you cannot fulfill your word so that when you do commit, you are able to accomplish that which you have promised. Don't easily say yes and then you can't fulfill that. Let your yes be yes and your no, no. Another aspect of faithfulness is loyalty. Loyalty. Are you faithful to your wife? Faithful to your husband? Faithful to your children? Loyal to them? Loyal to your parents, to your family, to your brothers and sisters in Christ? Loyal to your friends regardless of the difficulties? Do you remain loyal to your commitments even when something more advantageous comes by? You tell somebody you're going to do something, perhaps you're out on a job and you say, yes, I will be there at such and such a time. And then you don't show up and they ask, well, why weren't you there? I was waiting for you. And you said, well, something better came up. That is not faithfulness. That is not loyalty. That's not keeping your word. That's being a liar. Your faithfulness is the finite human reflection of God's infinite, steadfast love. That chesed that we learned about in the book of Ruth, which is God's faithful love and affectionate loyalty. Jeremiah 9, listen to what the prophet says. And again, it's the Lord speaking through him. Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches. but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me. That I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I take delight, says the Lord. This faithful love is what God desires, for it is His very character and delight. His faithfulness. Are you faithful? Are you His faithful children? Is there a consistent righteousness in your life, both in public and in private? Are you the people of the book? That's what Muslims call Christians, the people of the Book. Are you? Are you people of the Word of God? And are you a faithful person of your own Word that you give to others? God is faithful. Christ is faithful. And those of you indwelt by the Holy Spirit are faithful as well. The Holy Spirit is producing in you this disciplined fruit of faithfulness. Second, verse 23, the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. Another translation, faithful translation is meekness. Gentleness or meekness is the discipline, the discipline of attitude, the discipline of attitude. It is not dissimilar to long-suffering patience or kindness, but it is distinct. It has to do with a disciplined attitude about yourself before God and one another. This gentleness or meekness is the attitude that humbly submits itself under God's Word and before one's neighbor. It manifests itself in humility. humility. Again, the attitude looked well upon by the Lord in Isaiah 66. But this is the one to whom I, the Lord, will focus on and look with favor upon he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. We are to submit to the will of God expressed in his word and the will of God worked out in his sovereign providence in our lives. It is the attitude expressed by the psalmist in Psalm 131. Listen to what he says. O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty, nor do I involve myself in great matters or in things too difficult for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul. I am like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. Lowly. humble, needing your mother still. Mothers, your children still want to be held. They need you. It's humility. Listen to your Lord and Savior when He says, learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly at heart. Jesus is described in the Gospel of Matthew this way, as He's quoting actually from the prophet, Behold my servant whom I have chosen, the servant of Yahweh, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him. He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. Children, do you quarrel? Do you fight? Do you cry? Do you whine? You throw a hissy fit. Christ doesn't do these things. If you're a Christ, don't do that. It goes on to say, a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoking flax he will not quench. If you have a fire, he won't just snuff it out. He won't take the sturdiness of your reed and just break it in pieces. The Apostle Paul pleads with the Corinthian believers according to the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Look at his person. He ministered to the lowly and to the gentle. He didn't just wipe them out. He didn't take up the stone and throw it at the adulterous woman. You know what he came down hard on? You religious leaders, you brood of vipers, you hypocrites, you do this and that and the other thing and you do well, but you have neglected the weightier matters of the law of love, of kindness, of goodness, of faithfulness, of gentleness. The Apostle speaks to the Corinthians, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider robbery to be equal to God, but made himself of no reputation, lowly taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself. and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." So we are to exercise an attitude of gentleness and meekness in our relationships with one another. It refers to humble self-restraint that makes us gentle toward those with whom we may be tempted to be severe and harsh. It involves a willing deference to one's own concern over our own. Again, notice that gentleness stands between faithfulness and self-control. We may tend to think to be faithful and to be controlling might mean being severe and harsh with others, but gentleness stands between them tempering and qualifying the other two. These other two facets of discipline. Gentleness and meekness is not weakness. It is not. But rather it is strength under control. It is power harnessed in loving service and respectful actions. One who is gentle will not attempt to push others around or arrogantly impose one's own will on subordinates or even others, peers. But gentleness is not incompatible with decisive action and firm convictions either. For it was our Savior Jesus Christ, the mild and meek Savior, who drove out the money makers with a whip because of their obstinate defilement of His Father's house. But again, the Apostle says, let your gentleness be known to all men. Let your adorning, Peter says, be the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible, imperishable beauty of a gentle and meek and quiet spirit which in God's sight is very precious. Young ladies, listen, that is from Peter 3. He's speaking to you, women. But it's also to men. Let your adorning, your focus, be the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible and imperishable beauty of a gentle, meek, and lowly spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 1 Peter 3.4 Again, you are not to think of yourselves more highly than you ought, or you should, Romans 12, 3, but you ought to esteem your brothers and sisters more highly than yourselves. Because I am a sinner, my heart is deceitful. I tend to evaluate my gifts and abilities and worth more highly than I ought, more than you. The apostle says, no, do not do so. I must strive for a sober assessment to know my own weaknesses. Meekness and humility is not a denial of your strength and your gifts, but rather a sober, honest assessment of them as God tells you what they are. In humility, we ought to submit to one another, lower ourselves, and to submit to our brothers and sisters, no matter what position we hold. Gentleness is the mark of the officer of God in the church. In humility, we ought to submit to one another and not insist on our own way. This element of the fruit of the Spirit is the opposite of jealousy and envy. I shouldn't be hurt when I'm not recognized or when someone else is exalted over me. I shouldn't be so easily offended. We've been affected, brothers and sisters, by our culture that is so easily offended by the littlest thing. Let love cover a multitude of sins. Again, do not become easily offended. This is definitely contrary to our culture. Paul will apply this same aspect of gentleness of the fruit of the Spirit immediately in Galatians 6.1. As we proceed forth in our letter, restoring a fallen brother or sister, one who is engulfed in sin, in a spirit of gentleness. The gentle person exercises power to deal tenderly with others whenever possible for God's glory and their good. Do you deny yourself? Do you take up your cross? Do you deny your pride and cultivate humility before God so that you are gentle with others around you? Are you curbing your sinful tendency to strive and quarrel with others and growing in a quiet and meek spirit? Do you forgive those who sin against you and overlook many offenses? This is the mark of a spirit-filled Christian. Such things are produced by the Holy Spirit when you are united to Jesus Christ. And so, the Holy Spirit is producing in you this disciplined fruit of gentleness. And then third and finally, the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Or the English word is temperance. Temperance. Again, self-control is the discipline of affection and appetite. The discipline of affection and appetite. We have discussed discipline, but here specifically we have self-discipline or what we call self-government. Self-government. Government doesn't start at the top and dwindle down. It starts with you, each one of you. You are called to govern yourself. A person who's truly self-controlled governs themselves. Self-control begins with submission to the will of God and his word. We learn to control our emotions, our affections, regardless of the circumstances. Emotions are often reactive and we can easily, we cannot easily control our emotional response, but we can learn to discipline its outward manifestation, its expression. No outbursts of wrath. We should seek to bring our responses, our reactions into a quiet, peaceable submission to God and not be blown about with every adverse trouble, trial, upsetting circumstance. We can learn to control our emotions by learning to control the venting of our emotions. For example, the Apostle Paul did have a flash of righteous anger and spoke out against the high priest. Acts 23.5 records this. He was immediately rebuked by those around him. And he immediately brought his anger under control and responded Forgive me, brethren, I did not know that he was the high priest, for it is written, you shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people. He brought and he succumbed and he controlled that by the word of God. So we must learn to control our affections, our emotions, our passions. But we also learn to control our appetites. God has given us all things to enjoy, but he has also called us to a temperate lifestyle. We are not to overindulge in the use of the things of this world, of this life. We must not be obsessed with satisfying appetites and pleasures. We are to be moderate. We are to be moderate in the use of the gifts of God. Everything in moderation. You must not be slaves of your appetites. Do not be gluttons or drunkards going out binging on whatever to excess. Be careful not enslaving yourself to substances like alcohol, like drugs, like caffeine or tobacco, whatever, in giving yourselves over to excess, you lose your liberty in Christ. Do not use your liberty as an opportunity to indulge in the lust of the flesh. Again, this is also referring to the mastery over your desires, your passions, sexuality. Paul applies this word self-control in this way in 1 Corinthians 7. Control those lusts, those desires, those passions. It's the control and restraint of sexual impulses. We live in a sexually charged Culture and society. It wants to put things before your eyes. Men, do not willingly put these things before your eyes. Job said, I made a covenant with my eyes not to look at the young woman, to lust after her. Take your thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. If you have the Spirit of God in you, you can do so. Christ was tempted with these very things and he never sinned. Never lusted after a woman. That same Spirit is in you, the Spirit of Christ. The Greek word for self-control is actually a compound word meaning strength within. And what do you have within you? The Spirit of the living God that raised Christ from the dead. You have a might and the power of the Almighty in you. As a part of one of the fruit of the Spirit, the Spirit works power to control yourself, to conform to God's will despite inward passions and circumstances that might provoke and tempt you to sin. Self-control is that inward power, and though invisible, is more powerful than the strength of a great mighty man or the strength of an entire army. Do you realize that? The strong man does not control his passions, his lusts, his desires within. Even an army cannot do so. Solomon says the man who can control himself has greater power than the one who conquers a city. He also says, a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls, meaning this man is easily conquered and controlled by others. Put off the lust of the flesh. Another major area of life in desperate need of self-control is the use of our tongue. The use of our tongue. Whoever guards his mouth, preserves his life. He who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Proverbs 13.3 James says, if anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridal control his tongue, he deceives his own heart and his religion is useless and worthless. Paul's athletic imagery of the Christian life helps us interpret this word as he uses it in 1 Corinthians 9. He compares Christians to athletes. who must undergo strict training in order to compete as runners, racers, and boxers. A Christian without self-control is like a racer who runs aimlessly, running from one extreme to the other, one side of the course to the other. Or a boxer who sits there and just swings his arms and doesn't hit anything, pummels the air. It's vanity. He never lands the blow. In contrast, Paul says, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control so that after preaching to others, I myself may not be disqualified from the race, from the fight of the faith. We must also exercise discipline over our bodies, which are temples of God's spirit. Paul does not deny the usefulness of bodily discipline when he says it is of little profit. He again is comparing it with spiritual discipline, which is greater, but he doesn't say it's useless, it's worthless. No, he says it does profit. Therefore, we should do some form of exercise to maintain regular health and stamina. Self-control not only restrains bad behaviors, but empowers us to engage in good behaviors with diligence and perseverance. The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. In other words, the one who is self-controlled is self-disciplined and is hard-working, and will be blessed as a result of it. But we must understand, ultimately, self-control in the context of the fullness of the fruit of the Spirit. Again, it balances itself out. That is, what is the motivation of it, of self-control? It is not simply to control outward behavior for mere external behavior's sake. No, this is a matter of the heart. A matter of the heart. People can exercise self-control for many reasons. Many mistreat their body for no spiritual benefit. and no bodily benefit either. It actually is worse for them. Here's another example. Consider a thief. If a thief gets intoxicated and gets drunk while he's trying to perform his crime, again, he is a fool and he's going to fall into that. So what does he do? He abstains from alcohol, from intoxication, merely so he may be more securely committed to his crime of stealing. Can this be called virtuous? Of course not. Yet he's self-controlled in this way in order to be not controlled in another way of the works of the flesh, right? One over the other. One sinful fleshly sinful principle overcoming another that is weaker. That's not what we're talking about. It's a matter of the heart. Similarly, a self-righteous man might fast from food so that he can boast in his piety, Jesus says. Let everybody else know. Is that the motivation? No, that's the motivation of the flesh, not of the true heart given unto the Lord. Again, is it to please God or please men? No, the motivation for self-control must be a Christ-like love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness. It is directed toward a selfless, self-sacrificial love for God and love for neighbor. Self-control is. Self is controlled not for the ultimate purpose of following some human requirement or meeting personal goals, but for obeying the Word of God and walking according to the Spirit of God. unto God's glory and for his people's good. The fruit of the Holy Spirit, again, balances itself out. It must be read within that context. Self is controlled in this way. Your ultimate motivation is to love, worship, and please God. People exercise temperance or self-control based on what they love as their greatest Love. Greatest joy. St. Augustine said, temperance, self-control, is love giving itself entirely to that which is love. Christ-like temperance is seeking God first. Seeking His kingdom first. Seeking His righteousness first, above the pleasures and comforts of this world and this life. Do you exercise self-control? Do you have self-control over your passions, over your desires, your lusts, because you love God and others more than your own pleasure or own ease? Are you denying yourself for the sake of obedience to Christ? Do you have hope in the Kingdom of God that moves you to say no to some of the things in this present age so that you may enjoy better things in the forever to come? The endless ages to come. This is the character of a person united to Christ by the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is producing in you this disciplined fruit of self-control. And if you are bearing this fruit of the Spirit, beloved, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, you will live a disciplined life in your actions, in your attitudes, your affections, and your appetites. So as we conclude our time in the fruit of the Spirit. Consider these things. It is not just a detailed, specific, particular keeping, doing, walking in these qualities that are listed there in verses 22 and 23 of Galatians 5. But the fruit of the Spirit includes all the Word of God and the will of God in all of its fullness. The fruit of the Spirit encompasses every dimension of the fullness, goodness, and faithfulness of God toward you, as you are made and remade in His image and in His likeness through the indwelling activity of His Spirit. So don't limit it, brothers and sisters, and the fruit is one. It's united in the person of our God and in Christ and through the Spirit that comes through your life. Secondly, the mere reading about the fruit of the Spirit will not produce it. Neither should you think that the word fruit implies an effortless result. No. There is a tremendous amount of energy and power that goes into the production of this fruit. We're talking about the power of the ages of an endless eternal life to come. That is the power that is required to produce this fruit. It's the power of resurrection from the dead that produces this fruit in you. I want you to remember that the Apostle commands both before and after he gives this list, although this is the fruit of the Spirit, you must walk in the Spirit. That takes effort. That takes power. That takes strength and energy. Again, it requires that you make intentional discipline and prolonged effort to live according to the Spirit. You must actively be striving for it and in it. Shoddy, half-hearted, careless effort isn't good enough. There is no let go and let God here. You must not be satisfied to perform only occasional acts of love or to do so in a merely meager degree. but should pray and labor fully for a great and full harvest of ripe, mature, delicious, nourishing fruit in our lives, in your lives. Again, the fruit of the Spirit is nothing less than the loving character and moral excellence of the Lord Jesus Christ. You must strive to reach the highest and heavenly goal and look forward eagerly anticipating life everlasting, that eternal forever where you will finally and fully attain perfection in the glorious presence of your perfect God and Savior. He is faithful. He will do it. So live unto it. Walk in the Spirit. Pray continually in dependence on the grace of God and the work of His Spirit. Pursue love as holistic cluster of spiritual fruit. Love God and your fellow believers, not with a grim, resentful, sorrowful sorrow over what love costs you, but with a joy and a pleasure in your God who is infinitely lovely and beautiful. Seek peace in your heart and with others by your works of love and your delight in the presence of the God of peace. Let your love be long suffering and be patient, persevering in submission to God and mercy to others in hope that God will bring you to his glory, which you love more than life itself. Show your love in works of practical kindness and goodness to others while cultivating an inner disposition that loves to do good and to see others prosper and succeed, especially in everlasting life. Exercise yourself in faithfulness. Again, so your love is consistent with God's faithful character and Trustworthy word. Follow Christ in the ways of meekness to allow your gentle humility to show the wise and wholesome character of Jesus. Discipline yourselves with self-control so that your attitudes, words, and actions all reflect your willing posture to be obedient servant of God and a loving servant of others. That Christ may come on that day and with joy say, Well done, my good and faithful servant. Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, beloved, in the garden of your life. And by God's grace, your life will be increasingly full of the sweet fragrance of Jesus Christ. You will discover that the Holy Spirit is sculpting you. forming you, transforming you into the image of your Savior and Lord. And what better way to live than to live like Christ and bear forth the fruit of His life in you. As Paul said, for me to live is Christ. This is your hope of glory. The Apostle concludes his catalogue of virtues and he says that of the fruit of the Spirit by saying, against such there is no law. This brings us full circle. He demonstrates that the fruit of the Spirit is the mark of true liberty. We talk about liberty, we talk about freedom. We're Americans, we love to rally about that. But what is true liberty? It's walking in the Spirit. It's bearing forth the fruit of the Spirit. Again, the Apostle began this section by saying, For you, brethren, have been called unto liberty. Only do not use your liberty as an opportunity of the flesh, but through love serve one another. Freedom comes as you walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. The flesh enslaves. It captivates you. It puts you in bondage. He reminds us of what he said in verse 18. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. In other words, the fruit of the spirit is a mark that you are led by the spirit. Therefore, if you manifest the fruit of the spirit, you demonstrate the spirit is in you. You are not under the law as its slave. You are freed from its condemning and irritating. Power. You are free to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Moreover, these graces are not under the law, which means they do not compete with the law of God. As we are accepted for Christ's sake as justified men and women, boys and girls, our imperfect fruit bearing is acceptable before God for Christ's sake. In other words, perfection in the fruit of the Spirit is not what commends you to God. It's Christ's perfect fruitfulness that does. And He's working out His fruitfulness in and through you. You are in Christ. God takes delight and pleasure in you and in your fruit as you are united to Him because He is the vine and you're the branches and His life-giving Spirit is flowing through your roots and branches and veins and all that as living trees in the garden of God to bear forth fruit. And remember, He will cultivate you He will prune you, He will develop you, but He takes delight in your fruit and growth, and makes you more fruitful as He does these things. So do not be discouraged with small beginnings of small things, because He is cultivating, pruning, developing. So be confident of this, of this very thing, beloved, that He who has begun this good work in you will continue. He'll continue to work in you and in your life. And He will complete it in the day of Christ when He appears. And know this, that as you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, know for certain that it is God who works in you. both to will and to do for His good pleasure. I'll end with the Proverbs. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you, but bind them around your neck and write them on the tablet of your heart. What are you aiming for? What are you living for? Right now counts forever. Right now, your life right now counts for eternity. Therefore, walk in the spirit and bear forth the fruit of the spirit. Bear forth the fruit in your life to the glory of God. Amen. Let us pray. Our gracious and heavenly Father, we do thank you. We thank you for again your word. We thank you again for your spirit. We thank you for your Christ who gave himself selflessly It gives us the great example. He is the faithful one who, again, is working out his faithfulness through our lives. He is the gentle one who is working out his gentleness, his meekness through our lives. He is the one that was fully self-controlled. And may we be self-controlled in our lives unto, again, your glory and your people's good. Make us faithful, O Lord. You are doing so. You've promised to do so through your spirit. And we pray all these things again in the one who is forever fruitful. He is the vine. We are the branches. We pray these things in his holy and precious name. Amen.